349 Part 1

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 349

Defense Specialization and the Trial 4

And like that, the two prepared for the next battle and change. If there was nothing, that was fine as well. However, just as they had been anticipating, the next monster appeared from the passage in front of them.

“Ugh…!”

“Well, can’t say I didn’t expect this.”

What appeared now was the great boss from the 4th layer. The master ogre that had given the ‘Pandemonium’ skill to Maple. Well, it looked exactly like it, anyway. Only this time it was carrying a sword that was as big as its body.

“I’m not sure if this is going to be a powerful boss rush mode, or they’re just calling out bosses that you’ve fought?”

“But this one has a different weapon!”

“I’ll be careful.”

Sally said as she held her daggers ready. Maple returned her tentacle arm back to normal and held her shield up. Upon seeing this, the ogre also held up its sword.

And in the next instant, it arrived right in front of them through superhuman acceleration, and swung its blade as if to cut both of them in half.

“…!”

“Tsk…wah!?”

The dodging ability that was deeply ingrained into Sally allowed her to dodge the blade in an instant.

As Maple was holding her shield to the left, she just happened to succeed in guarding. And while ‘Bizarre Eater’ was activated, it wasn’t enough to destroy the sword. This meant that even though Maple wasn’t cut, the superhuman strength caused her to be lifted off of the ground and thrown against the wall.

On the other hand, Sally’s instincts immediately told her that this enemy was incredibly powerful. And from her lowered posture, she shot out like a spring and swung her daggers. Unlike with the Machine God, where her attacks prioritized force through skills, these were normal attacks that allowed her to move freely. However, the ogre reacted to them with swift movements.

“You beat this…that’s amazing. And this time we can fight it together.”

Nothing could be more wonderful. The enemy in front of them was strong, and Maple was right next to her. Sally had not been expecting to feel this feeling of elation here. And because of this, her concentration reached new heights.

The metallic rings of their blades echoed. Sally’s attacks were all being blocked, but this was true for the ogre’s attacks as well. However, if this continued, it was Sally, who was human, whose concentration would begin to weaken.

It was just as Sally thought that she needed something to break the stalemate. Laser suddenly shot out from the dust where Maple had been blown.

“Sally!”

The ogre reacted to this, blocking the laser with a swing of its sword. But Sally understood the reason that her name had been called. And she quickly took a step forward, twisted her body and cut deeply into the ogre’s torso. Even if it meant leaving the space where she would stay safe, she would not miss this chance that Maple had made for her.

And while she was able to deal damage, the ogre ignored her and started to move towards Maple. Upon seeing this, Sally went around it

“‘Super Acceleration’!”

Just before it could accelerate and charge once again, Sally arrived in front of its path and blocked its sword with her two daggers at a speed that the eye couldn’t follow.

“Where are you going? I’m your opponent.”

As Maple was not good at dealing with this kind of speed, it was Sally’s role to take on these attacks. And since ‘Dedicated Affection’ was still activated, they could avoid any unexpected accidents. Now she just needed to avoid getting hit by piercing attacks.

“Maple. I can break it if you make an opening for me!”

“Okay!”

Maple wasn’t alone this time. And with such a reliable partner, there was so much more that she could do now.

“‘Commence Attack’!”

As soon as it reacted to Maple’s attack, Sally stepped forward and cut at it. If she was delayed even a little when changing her posture, she would not be able to deal with the counterattack. But she would not make such mistakes with how concentrated she was now.

“It’s reasonably strong. But I don’t think we can lose to it.”

Unlike the 4th layer where you had to challenge it alone, they were able to focus on their own roles. And while the ogre’s movements greatly exceeded those of normal players, the same could be said for Sally. Not once would they allow it to get close to Maple, who shot at it from the back. It would be kept in one place. This too, was an inhuman task.

And like this, they repeated the simple yet difficult chain of attacks as the ogre’s HP dwindled. Then it took a backstep to create some distance, and pure flames started to shoot around it. At the same time, a great dog that was made of purple fire appeared in the back of the passage, and it came out to stand next to the ogre.

Sally stepped back as well in order to question Maple.

“Was this thing here the last time you fought it?”

“It wasn’t. It did use fire, but it wasn’t really like this. And the fire didn’t hurt me, but its attacks were piercing attacks.”

As Maple had been blown away as soon as the battle started, they had not been able to discuss anything. But now that the attacks had stopped for a moment, they were able to talk.

“I’ll try and keep it in one place. Maple, you block its fire attacks with ‘Dedicated Affection.’ I’m sure they’re all area attacks anyway.”

“Okay!”

“‘Sword Dance’ is now stacked to the limit, so I’ll be able to deal some damage.”

“If something happens, leave the defenses to me!”

They nodded at each other and then faced the ogre once again.

The ogre too had a dog by its side, and it was the start of a 2 vs 2 battle that was very different from what Mapple experienced on the 4th layer. There was no advantage of numbers now. And so they would have to push a little more carefully.

As they glared at each other and waited to see who would move first, the ogre broke the silence by sending the fire dog out.

“‘Commence Attack’!”

As it was rushing straight towards them, Maple unleashed her gunfire as if she had nowhere else to run. However, this dog was made of fire. And so all of Maple’s attacks went right through it without dealing any damage.